Fluid-powered centrifugal separators are well known for separating fluids of different densities or for separating particulate matter from liquids and have long been used in lubrication systems for engines, particularly diesel-powered vehicle engines, as well as in other industrial separation processes.
The principle of operation of such a centrifugal separator is that a housing contains a rotor which is supported therein to spin at high speed about a substantially vertical axis. Fluid is supplied at elevated pressure along the axis of rotation and is ejected from tangentially directed nozzles into the housing from which it drains to a sump.